It occurred to me that I didn't do a birthday tribute for Brad when we celebrated his birthday a couple of weeks ago. I guess since I see and talk to him everyday I didn't think to write something to memorialize the occasion. But, so no one thinks he is being slighted, here is his birthday post.
10 Things I Love About Brad (in addition to the obvious):
1. He often lays down on the floor with the dogs before he goes to bed at night so that they don't feel like they never get any attention.
2. He's always up for doing something fun. I never have to convince him. In fact, most times when I start a sentence with "Do you want to..." he replies "Yes" before I get out the rest of the sentence.
3. He's not afraid to bake.
4. He knows the real scientific reasons for phenomenon that I would otherwise explain by ghosts. For instance, when I set a plastic cup on some water on the counter and it started to move, or why the light in our bedroom would sometimes inexplicably turn on.
5. Ever since a Boy Scout camping trip when there was apparently a shortage of firewood he has been obsessed with firewood and devising plans to get firewood. Whenever we drive past a large foresty area (which is quite common around here) he says, "Karen, look at all that firewood". He also often says he needs a chainsaw. Mind you, we only have three teeny trees in our yard - they are barely good for kindling.
6. While I'm on the subject, he really builds the best campfires. I always thought mine were pretty good and my claim to fame has been that I once built a campfire good enough to cook on in the pouring rain. He beats me on consistency though.
7. He has dispelled the myth of many foods that I deem "magic food" - food that can only be produced in a factory or restaurant. Such foods include pho, spring rolls and truffles. There are others but I can't think of them now. I think the only remaining magic foods are oreos and twinkies - and really, those are magical.
8. We both have a little bit of OCD. It's especially noticeable right before we leave on a trip. This would be great if we were both OCD about the same things, but we are not. I find it necessary to have the house completely clean. Clean enough for the Queen. I know the Queen is not coming, just the petsitter, but still. Brad, on the other hand uses this time to make last minute repairs. Before we left for Washington DC he fixed the door latch to the basement (so the dogs couldn't get upstairs). Before we left for Myrtle Beach he took out our car stereo to see if it had an auxillary input on the back so we could plug in our MP3 player. It didn't. So he burned several CD's instead. And, right (and I mean moments) before we were going to leave for Kansas and Missouri he decided to check our sprinker system. One wasn't working so he asked if I thought he should go to Home Depot to get a new sprinker head so he could fix it. I said "no". I still needed to get the floors mopped :)
9. He doesn't have a set order for starting a drive or stopping one...for instance, when I am getting ready to go somewhere I always do things in this order - get in the car, turn the key, foot on the brake, put the car in reverse, fasten my seatbelt. He has no such order and sometimes will try to put the car in reverse without turning it on or whatever. It was particularly obvious when he was used to his manual transmission and then would drive my car. It made me laugh and laugh, sometimes until I almost wet myself.
10. He reads Harry Potter to the baby at bedtime. At about two pages per night, maybe by the time they finish the first book Dozer will be old enough to see the movie.
